Arequipa
A white city of volcanic stone at 2,300 metres, a walled convent in its centre and three volcanoes on the horizon, with the Colca Canyon a few hours away.
- Arrival
- Rodríguez Ballón International · AQP
- To the city
- About 30 minutes by car to Selva Alegre
- Private jets
- FBO and handlers at AQP
- Best time
- All year
The city
Carved from white stone.
Arequipa was founded in August 1540, and after the earthquake of 1784 it was rebuilt in sillar, a pale volcanic stone quarried from the hills around it. The arches and vaults of the old centre, listed by UNESCO in 2000, still glow in that stone, and Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu stand over the rooftops from almost every street.
It is Peru's second city and a kitchen of its own, where picanterías cook over wood fires: shrimp chupe, ocopa, adobo arequipeño. The air is high and dry, with some 3,300 hours of sun a year and afternoons of 21 to 23 °C in every month; the summer months bring cloud and the odd shower.
- Santa Catalina Monastery A walled convent filling a whole block of the centre, with its own lanes, cloisters and painted cells.
- Yanahuara An old quarter across the river, whose arcaded lookout frames the cone of Misti.
- Colca Canyon A deep valley a few hours' drive away, where Andean condors ride the morning air.
Arriving
A high runway, a short drive.
Rodríguez Ballón lies 8 km north-west of the city, at 8,400 feet, with a runway of 2,980 metres. The drive to the hotels of Selva Alegre takes about half an hour.
- Lima 1 h 20
- Santiago 2 h 45
- Punta del Este 3 h 45
- Miami 6 h 30 long-range jet
- Nice 13 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
All year round.
Desert sun at altitude. Afternoons stay between 21 and 23 °C all year, and from April to November barely a millimetre of rain falls in a month. January to March is the cloudier season, with 18 to 36 mm, mostly in brief afternoon showers.
- 22° J 25
- 22° F 36
- 22° M 18
- 23° A 1
- 22° M 1
- 22° J 1
- 21° J 1
- 22° A 1
- 22° S 1
- 22° O 1
- 22° N 1
- 23° D 3
Where to stay
A garden casona and a house of 1540.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
The best tables in town.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Peru. Two are Fodor’s Choice restaurants, with Fodor’s price bands; the third, in the Costa del Sol hotel, holds Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best award for 2025.
- Chicha por Gastón Acurio Fodor’s Choice Modern Arequipa $$$ Calle Santa Catalina, historic centre
- Salamanto Fodor’s Choice Modern Peruvian, tasting menu $$$ Calle Santa Catalina, historic centre
- Páprika Tripadvisor Best of the Best 2025 Peruvian $$$$ Costa del Sol Wyndham, Selva Alegre
Elsewhere in Peru
More reasons to come.
- Lima Clifftop Miraflores, and some of the most celebrated kitchens in South America.
- Cusco The Inca capital, its walls under colonial churches, at 3,400 metres.
- Sacred Valley Lower and milder than Cusco, the place to sleep before Machu Picchu.
- Machu Picchu The citadel on its ridge, reached by train along the Urubamba.
- Paracas Where the desert meets the ocean, with sea lions on the Ballestas islands.
Flying to Arequipa?
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